PAFOA members who are not NRA members

[Defender]

Some time ago I started a thread and asked PAFOA members who were not NRA members why they weren't. I received various answers to this question and respected them all. Now, with the election of Obama, I believe that we are going to see the greatest push for more gun control. So, I now ask, no, I beg all of you who are not members of the NRA to reconsider and join immediately. Whatever you opinion of the NRA as an organization, the fact remains that they are the "800 Lb. gorilla" when it comes to defending your gun rights. They have the most lobbyists in D.C., and they can make our voices heard. The time is now for all us gun owners to marshall our forces and prepare for the battles to come. Right now the NRA has 3 or 4 million members. We need to have 10 or 15 million gun owners as members of the NRA to make sure our voices are heard. The gun control folks are banding together, we need to do likewise. So, again, please put the differences aside that you have with the NRA and join now. We must fight for our gun rights like we have never fought before. The battle is about to start! Will you stand with us?

[tdyoung58]

guess they figure they'll just shoot it out with whoever is breaking the doors down....

[Philbert]

Since the junk mail can be one of the most annoying features of NRA membership, I will post this again:

Q: How can I reduce the amount of mail I receive from the NRA?
A: Simply email us at membership@nrahq.org or dial 800-NRA-3888 and request to be placed on the "Do Not Promote" list. This will significantly reduce the amount of mail you receive without affecting important mailings, magazine service, or your membership renewal.

[granuale]

Originally Posted by Defender

The battle is about to start! Will you stand with us?

The battle has been ongoing for many years. The National Rifle Association has not been a good steward of the movement. From it's most recent attempt to derail the Heller case, outrageous personal enrichment and inside deals of those in upper management, failure to maintain a consistent and principled oppostion to increased gun controlls based on gurantees protected by the bill of rights, and finally refusal to use their forturne and bully pulpit to effectively aid gun owners who are victims of the state, the NRA has shown that it does not deserve my support.

If you support the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment and are willing to fight for them, you will find me at your side. You won't find me supporting the NRA though. I spend my precious dollars on the organizations I think will use them wisely and make the most of my contributions. The PAFOA, Second Amendment Foundation, and GOA are currently on this list. I don't know why you are so adamant that the NRA is the one and only place for support. I would encourage everyone to get involved to make a difference. Writing your elected officials frequently and eloquently in response to proposed legislation is a far more powerful action in defense of bad legislation than an NRA membership is.

I resigned my NRA membership in disgust in 1993/4 after witnessing NRA-ILA Executive Director Tanya Metaksa in testimony before then Representative Charles Shumer's subcommittee refuse to make a principled defense of gun ownership and maintained to the point of absurdity on asserting firearms like Tech-9's were proper hunting guns. With each passing year, the NRA leads me to believe I made the right choice to withdrawl my support and direct my dollars elsewhere.

[dman]

Ditto defender ! A lot of people are hit hard by the economy right now.
Man ,I've never seen a pan-handler in Naples Fl. before but I'm seein it !
Things will improve I'm sure and we will all ban together. It's our nature !

PS. And I can't speak highly enough of PAFOA members, the very best !!

[mookinator1313]

i only have 1 reason why im not an NRA member, I HAVE NO MONEY lol if i had the money to spare, i would join in a second, but not having a job, and going to school half the day really hurts the bank

[Ozone]

Unless something drastic happens, the N.R.A. will always have my support and dollars.

[synergy]

I would give money to GOA long before I gave it to the NRA.

I think the NRA is more concerned with "sporting guns" than defensive ones.

[mjfletcher]

The NRA isn't the only organization fighting for our rights. How many members here go out to the range and put 100rds each through a couple guns on a regular basis? One range trip can pay for membership in the NRA, JPFO, and GOA for many of us, and all of those organizations is important in protecting our rights. But we need to go beyond just writing the check and letting someone else do the leg work.

We all have access to computers and the internet which means we can all type up letters to send snail mail and emails to send instantly to our state and federal legislators expressing our opinions and telling them what we want.

We've all got friends and family that aren't members of gun rights organizations but may support our rights. Instead of buying mom and dad a DVD player with all the bells and whistles that they'll never be able to figure out buy them one with fewer complicated features and get them a membership in the NRA, GOA, or JPFO. Same for siblings, Jr. Memberships for children, nieces and nephews (if their parents support our and their rights).

As the OP said, 3 million members is good, but 10 or 15 million is better. The more members an organization has, the more their words will be listened to by our legislators.

[mjfletcher]

Originally Posted by synergy

I would give money to GOA long before I gave it to the NRA.

I think the NRA is more concerned with "sporting guns" than defensive ones.

They started as a hunters organization and over time have moved into competitive rifle, competitive pistol, and most recently have started into the defensive side of firearms. As with all organizations, they've grown over time. Im a member of the NRA and other organizations because no org can cover the entire spectrum without becoming completely useless because they're spread too thin. The NRA will continue to get my membership, as will the GOA, JPFO, Etc for as long as I can afford to remain a member.